Hub cones the same front and rear?

Quoted message said:

Just bought four new pyramid brand hub cones all the same. Upon
disassembling my wheels I notice I have 3/16 inch loose bearings in
front and 1/4 inch bearings in back. The cones look the same and a
close match to the replacement cones.

I don't know about your bike, but most good-quality road bikes have 9
mm axles up front, and 10 mm axles in back (sometimes 9.5 mm).
Therefore, the cones cannot be interchanged front-back. Are your
pyramid cones able to work on both the front and back axles at the
same time ?? Is this a low-cost bicycle of some sort ??

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

On 6 Oct 2004 11:28:52 -0700, [email hidden] (Donald Gillies)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Just bought four new pyramid brand hub cones all the same. Upon
disassembling my wheels I notice I have 3/16 inch loose bearings in
front and 1/4 inch bearings in back. The cones look the same and a
close match to the replacement cones.

I don't know about your bike, but most good-quality road bikes have 9
mm axles up front, and 10 mm axles in back (sometimes 9.5 mm).
Therefore, the cones cannot be interchanged front-back. Are your
pyramid cones able to work on both the front and back axles at the
same time ?? Is this a low-cost bicycle of some sort ??

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

I have the old 3/8 26 TPI axles front and rear. My LBS gave me the
only thing he had for 26 TPI axles and they looked about the right
size although they had aluminum dust covers that I had to remove. Any
cone that is designed for 9 loose 1/4 inch bearings will have similar
race profiles since the spacing of the bearing cannot vary that much.

What surprised me was that the LBS said these same cones could be used
to replace the front cones that use 10 loose 3/16 balls? The Araya
hubs are still in pretty good shape except for a little pitting in the
ball track of the cones so I hate to replace the hubs. The ball track
wear on the original front cones is kind of narrow only about a 1/16
of an inch wide so I doubt these were premium quality cones to begin
with. Upon close inspection there is a slight difference in the race
profile between the original front and the original rear cones as
though they were ground for different sized balls.

Guess the pyramid brand cones are universal replacement cones that
will work for all 3/8 axles like the Wheel Master replacements shown
here?

http://www.bikepartsusa.com/product_info.phtml?p=01-114947

If anyone has a link for 3/8 26 TPI cones that are optimally ground
for front 3/16 " X 10 balls please post!

Quoted message said:

Just bought four new pyramid brand hub cones all the same. Upon
disassembling my wheels I notice I have 3/16 inch loose bearings in
front and 1/4 inch bearings in back. The cones look the same and a
close match to the replacement cones. doesn't seem to be any
difference except for the width and location of the wear on the cone?
Are some replacement cones ground multi purpose so that they will
accomadate both 1/4 inch and 3/16 inch balls?

They're usually quite different - even LH and RH sides are often
different at the rear.

Zog The Undeniable said:

Quoted message said:

Just bought four new pyramid brand hub cones all the same. Upon
disassembling my wheels I notice I have 3/16 inch loose bearings in
front and 1/4 inch bearings in back. The cones look the same and a
close match to the replacement cones. doesn't seem to be any
difference except for the width and location of the wear on the cone?
Are some replacement cones ground multi purpose so that they will
accomadate both 1/4 inch and 3/16 inch balls?

They're usually quite different - even LH and RH sides are often
different at the rear.

Symmetry is attained using spacers on my rear hub. All the spacers
are 5/8 OD by 1/2 inch long 26 TPI on a 3/8 axle. Hope I don't have
to ride these cones that are ground for 1/4 inch balls in my front hub
too long.

[email hidden] wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Just bought four new pyramid brand hub cones all the same. Upon
disassembling my wheels I notice I have 3/16 inch loose bearings in
front and 1/4 inch bearings in back. The cones look the same and a
close match to the replacement cones. doesn't seem to be any
difference except for the width and location of the wear on the cone?
Are some replacement cones ground multi purpose so that they will
accomadate both 1/4 inch and 3/16 inch balls?

I was just pondering this since I just replaced my rear axle and
cones. I suspect that a cone is not too specific to a single bearing
size, as long as the seal positions are not shifted too much, but the
hub is specific to one particular bearing size.

Quoted message said:

I have the old 3/8 26 TPI axles front and rear. My LBS gave me the
only thing he had for 26 TPI axles and they looked about the right
size although they had aluminum dust covers that I had to remove. Any
cone that is designed for 9 loose 1/4 inch bearings will have similar
race profiles since the spacing of the bearing cannot vary that much.

What surprised me was that the LBS said these same cones could be used
to replace the front cones that use 10 loose 3/16 balls?

That is the usual axle size for Asian-made BMX hubs. Your cones
should work in either hub, though they should not be switched between
front and rear once the balls have established a track. Remember to
readjust them once they have worn in a bit.

You should definitely use new balls when you replace the cones. Balls
from a single batch are closely matched in size, so don't mix batches.

Chalo Colina

Quoted message said:

Just bought four new pyramid brand hub cones all the same. Upon
disassembling my wheels I notice I have 3/16 inch loose bearings in
front and 1/4 inch bearings in back. The cones look the same and a
close match to the replacement cones. doesn't seem to be any
difference except for the width and location of the wear on the cone?
Are some replacement cones ground multi purpose so that they will
accomadate both 1/4 inch and 3/16 inch balls?

Usually the cones for 3/16" (10x10) bearings have a 9mm hole
in them not 10mm like the 1/4" balls ( 9x9) kind.

To see if a cone is suitable, measure the diameter of the
shiny bearing track on the old cone. Now lay your caliper on
the new cone. Is that diameter well away from an edge? If
so, it will work. Other things to look for are outer
diameter. It has to clear the dust cap but not be so small
as to allow dirt in. Some systems require a dust cap to
press on the cone itself. A socket or freewheel tool works
well for that.

Also look at the depth of the cone - can you get a wrench
on it when it's in place? I'm assuming you already screwed
it on your axle and the thread is the same.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

(Chalo) said:

Quoted message said:

I have the old 3/8 26 TPI axles front and rear. My LBS gave me the
only thing he had for 26 TPI axles and they looked about the right
size although they had aluminum dust covers that I had to remove. Any
cone that is designed for 9 loose 1/4 inch bearings will have similar
race profiles since the spacing of the bearing cannot vary that much.

What surprised me was that the LBS said these same cones could be used
to replace the front cones that use 10 loose 3/16 balls?

That is the usual axle size for Asian-made BMX hubs. Your cones
should work in either hub, though they should not be switched between
front and rear once the balls have established a track. Remember to
readjust them once they have worn in a bit.

You should definitely use new balls when you replace the cones. Balls
from a single batch are closely matched in size, so don't mix batches.

Chalo Colina

Thanks for the reassurance. The cups in the hubs are polished mirror
smooth after 30,000 miles. The contact area appears to cover about 80
degrees in the cups. After riding to the store to buy new 3/16 balls
the cones polished up over an area of about 20 degrees at the sharper
radius of the french curve shaped race profile low on the cone. the
balls are well supported radially. Apparantly the cones really are
universal both front and rear hubs spin smoother than when they were
new.